also jump-start, to start a car using battery booster cables, by 1970, from jumper "wire used to cut out part of a circuit or close a gap" (1901 in telegraphy); see jump + start. Related: Jumpstarted; jumpstarting. Figurative use by 1975.

jump-start

noun

The act or process of starting or setting in motion something that is stalled or sluggish: Linden teacher gives kids jump-start on information highway

verb

To start a car by attaching cables to the battery from a car that runs; start anything that resists going: They finally jump-start that poor dumb animal/ Mubarak Tries to Jump Start Stalled Mideast Peace Talks(1980s+)

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source